Ready, Set, Sell: Getting Your Start in Ecommerce

Ecommerceis booming. In the United States, it’s growing at a rate of about 10 percent per year, which is more than twice therate of the retail industry as a whole. Due to this, there are myriadopportunities for people to capitalize on this trend. But don’t think you canjust waltz into ecommerce success without doing some groundwork. Here are sometips for getting your start in ecommerce.

Formulate Your Niche

Some
people think it’s wise to appeal to as wide an audience as possible when
building an ecommerce store. After all, you’ll make more money if you can draw
in more customers, right? While there’s some truth to that sentiment, it’s
generally not the correct approach—especially for people just starting their
e-store.

You’ll
have more success if you narrow your focus to a specific niche. While this will limit the total size of your
customer base, it can give you a sizable share of a certain position. For
example, instead of trying to sell all kinds of cosmetics products, home in on
one type—such as premium skin lotions for more youthful skin or pastel hair
dyes for hipster women. With so much competition out there, you need to set
yourself apart from other e-stores. Plus, people will be more likely to find
your site if you’re selling to their precise search.

Remember the Power of SEO

A lot of
people don’t even know about SEO (search engine optimization) before building
an ecommerce store. In fact, many who currently operate an e-store don’t know
about it. Don’t be one of these people. SEO is hugely beneficial when used
correctly. It revolves around finding ways to boost
your visibility in organic search results—primarily
through creating content and using keywords.

Consider Usability

People are
more likely to think something is easy to use if it looks
good visually. Ecommerce sites with clean lines and clear
organization are going to benefit more than cluttered and visually busy sites.

However,
you must be careful to avoid sacrificing usability to boost visual appeal. Make
sure your site is easy to navigate. Search bars and drop-down menus should be
in obvious places. Not doing this can result in lost sales when it’s
frustrating to consumers.

Get Things Right Before You Launch Your Site

Some
people like to get things going as soon as possible and figure out issues as
they arise. This can be an effective methodology in many areas—but not
necessarily when you’re trying to do ecommerce. You need to start by choosing
the right ecommerce platform.

What is an
ecommerce platform? According to Shopify, It’s the
service that will host your online store. Rushing through this part of the
process can be a massive mistake and cost you down the line. Beyond just
choosing the right platform, you need to ensure everything’s working correctly
before opening your store to the public. Check all links and pages for bugs.
You should also get some outside opinions. Sometimes it’s hard to tell what’s
not right on your own. Launching too early can end up
hurting you in the ecommerce ramp-up—as you don’t want to miss
out on potential loyal customers due to potential oversights.

Make Sure Mobile Is On-Point

People new
to the ecommerce world might not appreciate the importance of mobile ecommerce.
But this is a big mistake. Currently, about 60 percent
of searches happen on mobile devices. Most of the big
ecommerce platform providers have mobile compatibility or responsiveness built into their themes. However, not all of
them will be of the same quality. Be sure to thoroughly test your site on
various smartphones and tablets. A poor mobile site can be detrimental to your
online store.

There’s a
lot to consider when you’re putting together an ecommerce store. Individuals new
to the space will want to do some research before jumping in headfirst.
Consider all these aspects when you’re building your online business.